ALL THREE London One North sides were involved in nail-biting thrillers that went right down to the wire at the weekend – although none of Chingford, Woodford and Eton Manor managed to emerge victorious.

Both Chingford and Woodford were agonisingly beaten by a single point by Colchester and Old Colfeians respectively, while Eton Manor were held to a 29-29 draw in a gripping encounter with Ruislip.

For Manor, the performance was strong preparation for this week's eagerly-anticipated derby with Woodford, as the New Wilderness men had never previously taken any points away from Ruislip's ground.

The omens looked good when Bradley Webb bundled over from a successful maul, a try that Greg Anderson did well to convert.

However, a lack of concentration enabled Ruislip to hit back with a score of their own. Manor once again gained the upper hand when Anderson rifled over a penalty, but the three-point lead was short-lived, the hosts threading the ball along their back line and going over in the corner.

In a topsy-turvy contest, Mindaugas Norvaisas powered over for his first try for Manor after a Ruislip penalty to make the scores 17-17.

The home side scored again to give themselves some breathing space after the break, but substitute Gareth Tucker's marvellous individual effort brought the visitors to within two points.

Ruislip thought they had the game won when they went over again, but with just eight minutes left on the clock, Norvaisas powered over and Anderson converted to earn a share of the spoils.

Elsewhere, Woodford were narrowly defeated by Old Colfeians 22-21.

The result is one the Highams men will hope to put right when they travel to face Manor on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Chingford were the architects of their own downfall against Colchester, as poor handling and missed opportunities cost them dear.

Balls dropped over the try-line and skewed penalties gave the impression it was not to be Chingford's day, although the Waltham Wayers did manage to score through the prolific Luke Campbell, with Mat Lockwood adding a penalty soon afterwards.

The two sides then traded tries, with Edward Pike going over for the hosts, and Colchester slotted a penalty for a half-time score of 13-8.

A converted try underneath the posts put Colchester ahead and, despite a series of glaring missed, Chingford did regain the lead when Guy Gavan scored, making the deficit two points with just seven minutes left.

But the errors were to come back to haunt the home side and, with time ticking down, Colchester forced and then converted a penalty for a one-point victory, 21-20.

Chingford's director of rugby Steve Slowick said afterwards: “We lost that game because of what we did, and not because of what Colchester did. We gifted them all of their points and the amount of chances that we didn't take, it should have been a bonus point win, instead we walk away with a consolation losing bonus point."